collaborative_daredevil | Slavery RP Post XVIII

Matt whined at the smell now, how it was all sharp and chemical, and for some reason he thought hospital and training and felt himself being dragged by the hair and smaller and too small for what they were doing to him and it was only then that the smell changed again, this time to something so good it shocked him completely--the last bath he and Foggy had taken together-ish, after a bad day for poor Foggy with his shoulder and a rainstorm, and Matt had made him get into the hot bath with foam, and the water was bubbling and foaming and smelled like jasmine, plums, basil, and rosemary, with lemon peel too, and Matt finally relaxed enough to think, and when he did he tugged at Treacle and Foggy's hands, trying to tell him to lead him away from it, to get them away from the potent reminders of bad things.

"Want to move somewhere else?" He waited for Matt to nod, then scooped him up in his arms to carry away.

Matt frowned and whined a tiny bit in jealousy, but focused on having perfect posture and timing as he followed his Foggy instead, glued to his leg, and they were in a new part of the room now, one that smelled like a kitchen or a bar and had a smooth floor, and he could hear the Danny getting things from the fridge.

Once he had Matt settled down on a big pet cushion he went to explore the fridge, finding the makings for mango lassi and starting to prepare it.

And on the other door Foggy found the ingredients for Matt's favorite smoothie, and picked them out, setting them in the almost-silent blender. He put strawberries (already frozen and quartered), bananas, mangos, and fresh, organic yogurt, a little vanilla ice-cream, and a touch of apple juice all together before blending it all up.

He settled down beside Matt, holding his lassi for Matt to drink from.

Matt opened his mouth for the smoothie, sitting up and whimpering, but his mouth kept tasting like blood and so did Treacle's, from his unhappy noises.

"Not good now?" He asked gently, putting the drink aside when Matt nodded unhappily.

"It's okay, it will keep. How about some mints to help clear the taste, or some chamomile tea?"

"Matt, do you want some gum?" Foggy asked softly, finding the sharp wintermint gum that Matt said cleared his mouth out intently, and offering it to him, holding out a napkin for him to spit it back out into when he was done, shaking his head a little and frowning confusedly. "What was that?" Foggy asked him. "Tasted like...bad memories?" he asked delicately, and Matt nodded emphatically.

His Matt was nodding too.

"How about a game of fetch for a bit then?" Maybe putting some time between remembering and eating would help.

Matt nodded enthusiastically, sitting up higher and wriggling in enthusiasm, hoping that his Foggy wouldn't hesitate to throw the ball as fast or high as he wanted, Matt loved chasing it, and Foggy did, and Matt chased after it as well he could, but the room kept shifting and changing until the ball rolled to the corner of a new room, and he and Treacle went in quickly but cautiously. Everything smelled at once strange and sweet.

They followed their Matts into the new room...a tiny courtyard garden, filled with exotic flowers.

Matt felt a bright, warm delight at the flowers, leaning in close to smell them and delicately feeling their petals when his hands could get close, in awe of how new and different and good they were. He felt light and buzzing as he and Treacle went from flower to flower, every part of them fascinating and perfectly distracting. And as neither of their masters hurried them or showed any impatience Matt felt himself slipping deeper down, thinking of himself simply as a pet and his master as just that, and he felt an overwhelming sense of pride at how clearly he was trusted and treasured, how his collar jingled and how strong he felt, and the pet next to him was clearly open and vulnerable too.

He spotted a bench set to one side and pointed it out silently, the two of them going to sit and watch their pets exploring together.

"They're so bright and curious, and that's wonderful, isn't it?"

"It's amazing to see them really relax," Foggy said, admiring them. "Have you ever taken Treacle to a tactile painting exhibit? Matt loved that. He spent hours and hours just touching everything, so slowly. Or when, um, we went to this little place and had a taster menu of vinegars and oils. He loved it."

"No, tactile painting hasn't come up, but I have taken him to interactive art installations that you're supposed to explore with your fingers before. And to places with taster menus of chutneys and honeys." Danny considered. "He likes trampolining, have you done that with Golubushka?"

"Like, going on trampolines? Where do you find them?" Foggy asked. "Matt does parkour stuff on roofs sometimes, does yours?"

"There's a room set up for trampolining at the pet park I've got a membership in, and there's trampoline sessions at the academy, but there's also places where you can hire time on a trampoline, or some gyms have them, and that should be the same in your world." Danny gave Foggy the name of one place he took Matt to play on the trampoline. "And yes, he goes over the roofs sometimes, it's fun and faster a lot of the time."

"I will definitely have to try that sometime," Foggy said thoughtfully. He watched as they 'shared' a flower so delicately. "You know, for all our disagreements, I'm glad Treacle has you, it's obvious you love him beyond words." Foggy hesitated, and added, "I think he feels very insecure about his own abilities. Or like you, you like him because you don't see how disabled he actually is."

"And I am glad that Golubushka has you for similar reasons." Danny agreed with Foggy, even though he didn't like him it was obvious he adored Golubushka. "Any suggestions for how to make sure he knows I love him even though I do understand how disabled he is - in ways that most people wouldn't recognise as well?"

"I've found that a lot of the time, accommodating him and making things better for him without him needing to ask helps," Foggy says. "Making sure he knows he doesn't need to, you know, put on a front of being totally normal or healthy around me or at home. And making sure he knows I like this stuff too, that I like it when he's relaxed enough to speak or not and to let me help him." Foggy paused. "And lots and lots of kissing. Whenever we slack off on affection he feels rejected."

"Yeah." He agreed with that. "I love getting to kiss him until he's breathless and squirming. And he's beautiful like this, relaxed and open, just as beautiful as he is advocating for other pets, and telling me what he wants."

"Making them feel known and understood and still wanted and admired is the most important thing," Foggy agreed. "And Matt is so, so moral and gentle with hurt people and so ferocious in court. I've seen him effortlessly shred a case apart until the prosecution's not just lost but absolutely despairing. He's the best person I know."

Because he didn't know Danny's Matt. And he was probably blind to the flaws Golubushka had.

"He helped me work through how we were talking past each other, my Matt, and me. My Matt is wonderful, the bravest person I know."

Foggy breathed out. "Your Matt is incredibly kind," he said. "He tried very hard to continually see things from other people's viewpoints, even though he was very angry. I think that maybe he has trouble sometimes standing up for himself because of it...it's a delicate balance."

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Danny: Clearing Up

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Danny: Clearing Up

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Danny: Clearing Up

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Danny: Clearing Up

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Danny: Clearing Up

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Danny: Clearing Up

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